Why I believe you should carry a 9mm handgun

The other day I ran into an acquaintance (who I barely know) and he told me that he’d just purchased a .45 caliber handgun. He said he loved the gun, but the only problem was he couldn’t shoot it. All of his shots were going low and he couldn’t ever hit the target.

Next, he asked me what type of gun I carried and I told him my carry gun was the Glock 19 9mm. He looked at me kind of funny and said “a 9mm, why don’t you get a manly gun like I did?”

I had a nice laugh, especially since this fellow asked me to give him a private shooting lesson. I told him I didn’t have time and quickly left the store thinking to myself “if I’m ever in a duel, I hope he’s my opponent.”

So why exactly do I carry a 9mm and why do I think you should too?

Well, it’s not because I don’t love a .45 and the feel of my Springfield 1911 in my hand. It’s because I’m able to keep my ego in check and realize that the only reason I carry a gun is to protect my life and the lives of my loved ones. I don’t do it to be “cool,” to be “manly” or as a way to impress my buddies.

And the fact is, if I’m ever involved in a self-defense shooting situation, I have the odd feeling my “target” is not going to be standing perfectly still like it is when I’m at the gun range. This means if I’m shooting its likely going to take multiple hits to bring down an attacker. In other words, if it’s a dynamic situation where people are moving my hits might end up in the arm, leg, chest, any number of places.

And it’s for this very reason I carry the 9mm.

You see, the 9mm lets me get off a quicker burst of shots because it has less recoil and enables me to get my gun back on target quicker. If you think that all you need is your .45 and one bullet to stop an intruder, then what if that one round hits him in the arm? By the time you’ve got one round off, I’ll have 3-4 with my 9mm and the attacker will hopefully be stopped by then.

In addition to allowing me to shoot more shots more quickly, the 9mm also lets me carry more rounds. I realize the majority of gun fights are under 6 rounds, but I still prefer a 15 round magazine to an 8 round magazine. After all, the way life works your defensive encounter will be the 1% of gunfights that requires 10 or more rounds. (Don’t forget multiple attackers and the “flash mobs” we have these days.)

Remember, shot placement is what’s important. I have several friends that are doctors and surgeons who see gunshot wounds all the time. (They work in terrible Baltimore, MD.) These friends tell me that people often survive gunshot wounds no matter the caliber because the handgun round in general isn’t that powerful. That’s why you’ll likely need multiple ACCURATE hits. And if you’re like the fellow I ran into the other day and you’re carrying a .45, not only will you be slower with your hits, you’ll be less accurate if you don’t practice often.

The bottom line is, I’m very comfortable carrying my 9mm Glock and if the day ever comes where I have to defend my life I’m more than confident the 9mm round will serve me well. Are you comfortable and confident with your gun?

How to Choose a Self-Defense Lawyer

I don’t like lawyers any more than you do. I’m pretty sure that the first day of law school they escort them into a little booth where they suck out the creative part of their brains and replace it with the three word phrase: “Just sue them.” (I’ve witnessed this on many occasions with my lovely wife’s brain dead friends.)

However, if you choose to carry a handgun then you absolutely need to find a good self- defense lawyer. And, you need to find one today. The worst thing you can do is wait until the day you have to shoot someone for trying to kill your family and be flipping through the yellow pages in jail trying to locate someone. (Especially, if you haven’t yet had a lawyer tell you what to do in the aftermath of a shooting.)

So how exactly do you find a self-defense lawyer?

Well… it’s not as bad as you might think. First off, ask all of the firearms instructors in your area and they should be able to give you a referral or two. If for some reason they don’t know of a lawyer, then go to your local gun shops and ask around. Lastly, you can call the NRA and they’ll give you a list of lawyers in your area.

If you ask the folks above, then the same names will probably pop up over and over. This is a good sign and you’ll want to call these attorneys and interview them. You’ll want to ask if they’ve ever handled a self-defense shooting… how many cases have they tried… can you get their phone number to carry around in your wallet at all times…

And remember, you are interviewing them. Don’t let them intimidate you, or avoid your questions. This person might keep you out of jail one day so make sure, as much as possible, that they know what they’re doing. If for some reason all they do is brag to you or they talk about all the criminal cases they’ve done (but not self-defense) then find someone else.

You see, you need someone who knows how to try a self-defense case when the person is innocent. You don’t want a criminal attorney who is used to using a bunch of tricks to get scum bags off because this will not work for you.

My personal attorney…

For instance, my personal self-defense attorney is the NRA’s former lawyer. He’s certainly not the cheapest guy around but in addition to my gun, my holster, and the training I do… my attorney is on my list of things never to be cheap about in life.

In addition to the obvious factor of being able to call him if I’m ever involved in a shooting, perhaps the most important thing is the discussions we’ve had about how to deal with the police after a shooting… what to say and what not to say.

So, if you happen to carry concealed and don’t have a lawyer yet, please change that ASAP. I’d hate to see you preserve your life from a criminal only to get screwed by the legal system because you didn’t have a quality attorney.

My Course Review of Massad Ayoob’s MAG-40

When I rule the universe I’ll approach my wife to tell her that I’m going to another firearms training class and she’ll say to me, “Honey, that’s fantastic. To help pay for it I’m going to return those ridiculously expensive jeans I bought last weekend that almost gave you a heart attack.”

But until that day comes, I will continue to be blackmailed into trading firearms classes for pairs of shoes, expensive jeans and more picture frames. (If there’s ever a shortage of picture frames in the world, the Hanson’s will be sitting on a gold mine.)

Thankfully, I can say my latest blackmail trade of Massad Ayoob’s MAG-40… for lots of cardigans that all look the same to me (though she tells me they have different necks even though they’re the same color), turned out to be a very good one.

If you don’t know who Massad Ayoob is…

He’s one of the top instructors in the country and he’s authored numerous books on self- defense. His MAG-40 class is ten, 4 hour days that consist of range time and classroom lecture.

Quite frankly, I could stop right here and just tell you that you need to attend this class. I’ve been very blessed to attend some of the top classes in the country (both government and private sector) and this class is without a doubt among the best.

The man’s vast amount of knowledge when it comes to firearms and personal protection is astounding. More importantly, he doesn’t just teach you how to be a better shooter. He teaches the responsibility of gun ownership. He teaches when you’re allowed to use deadly force… what you need to do if you ever have to use deadly force… how to deal with police… witnesses… the investigator, and even your own lawyer.

He teaches several shoot/don’t shoot scenarios and emphasizes that the last thing any of us ever want to do is use the gun. In fact, as I’m writing this, I’m looking at the more than 15 pages of handwritten notes I took and it’s as if he crammed 40 years of knowledge into just 4 days.

Of course we did lots of shooting too.

We did one handed shooting drills, shooting from the knee, shooting from 15 yards out and other timed shooting drills. The final day we shot a qualification course, and yes my friend, I did shoot 300 out of 300.

To tell you the truth, it’s tough to put into words how good this course really was. I was never alive to see Jeff Cooper teach in person, but I imagine watching Massad Ayoob is similar – seeing a master at his craft.

He also offers another course called the MAG-80 and I plan to attend it one day. (So, yes dear, that means we can get more picture frames.)

For anyone truly serious about preserving their own life and taking care of their family, you owe it to yourself to try and attend one of these classes. If you’re like me, and most of the people who attended with me, it will be something you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

Your College Kid’s Guide to Personal Protection

In the past two weeks I’ve had a brother in-law and a sister-in law start college. I also had a brother who graduated from college, but he was on the 8-year plan (and no, he’s not a doctor.) For the two who were starting college it got me thinking just how vulnerable college students are and what they can do to better protect themselves… So I shared with them the following advice, which I’m sure they’ll ignore:

First off, if they can (and are responsible enough) they should have a gun. In Utah, where my brother and brother in-law attend college, they are allowed to carry concealed on campus. With all that’s occurred on college campuses these last few years I don’t have to tell you why it’s a good idea to carry concealed there. Even if they don’t want to carry everyday they should still have a gun in their apartment for home defense.

Now, if your kids go to a school where they can’t have a gun, but they live in off campus housing, then again, they should have a gun in their house. Of course, make sure they’ve had training with it and know how to properly manipulate and shoot the gun.

For those who don’t go to college in Utah, Virginia or any other place where you’re allowed to carry on campus then they need other tools to protect themselves. One of my favorites, if not my favorite, is the tactical pen. You can carry it anytime, anywhere and if your child knows how to properly strike with it, it can cause some serious damage. I’m not a fan of pepper spray or tasers because there’s just too much that can go wrong with them.

Also, you need to give your child a situational awareness speech.

If you have a daughter it’s a short one and goes like this: “Do not trust any boy no matter what he says to you. It’s all lies and he’s the scum of the earth.” If you have a son, it goes like this: “Pay attention to your surroundings, don’t have your head buried in your cell phone, be careful at parties, don’t go out alone at night, etc. etc. etc.”

By the way, do you know how Ted Bundy used to get young women into his car to murder them? Ted would walk around with a cast on and when a young woman was around he would “accidentally” drop his keys. When the woman bent over to pick them up he would knock them out with his cast. (The moral of the story is to tell your kids to be very suspicious of all people. If a boy happens to knock on your daughter’s door at 3am and it’s an “emergency” she shouldn’t open the door. She should call the police for him through the door. I know this is common sense to you and me, but it’s not to most college kids.)

Also, I know this is next to impossible, but if you could tell your college kid not to drink, that would lower their risk of harm significantly. I don’t drink and neither do my brother or my in-laws so I don’t have to worry about that with them. But here’s just one sampling of the many horrible things that happen from college drinking. (The following is from a study done by Wayne State University.)

“A college student who participated in one of our studies explained how she agreed to go back to her date’s home after a party: “We played quarter bounce (a drinking game). I got sick drunk; I was slumped over the toilet vomiting. He grabbed me and dragged me into his room and raped me. I had been a virgin and felt it was all my fault for going back to his house when no one else was home.”

Obviously that’s horrible but it happens thousands of times a year on college campuses across the nation.

Two more quick tips for your college kid: First, I remember many of my female friends not understanding that having the oil light on in their car was a bad thing or that air in a tire was pretty important. In other words, college kids are lazy about car maintenance so make sure they are taking care of it. The last thing you want to have happen is to have their car break down at night on some back road in the middle of nowhere as they drive home to see you.

Second, have them get a door stop alarm for their dorm room. I love these alarms and have several myself that I use. (They’re great for hotels.) Just Google “Door Stop Alarm” and you’ll see what I mean.

The bottom line is, predators know that college kids and college campuses are easy targets. After all, just think about how you and I felt “invincible” when we were that age and how we weren’t afraid of anything. So, if you’ve got a kid just starting college or heading to college next year I hope you’ll sit down with them and have a long chat. I also hope you’ll arm them with as many protection tools as possible… and if they don’t know how to shoot a gun yet, then you should spend some quality time with your kid next weekend at the shooting range.

My Earthquake Personal Protection Tools

Last week we had a 5.8 earthquake in the DC area. I realize that to people out in California that’s nothing, but on the east, we’re not used to that sort of thing. I happened to be on the top floor of a building at the time and to tell you the truth I thought a bomb had gone off.

I exited the building rather slowly (as everyone else ran past me) because I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a terrorist attack and someone wasn’t waiting outside with an Uzi. Once outside I was surrounded by hundreds of people milling around on the streets, with a few of them so upset they were crying.

Quite frankly, there was very little damage and it wasn’t really that bad, but I was amazed at how people overreacted. I looked around on the street as people we’re freaking out and thought to myself, “there are hundreds upon hundreds of people out in the city streets right now. Had this been a ‘real’ earthquake it would only have taken one or two ‘punks’ to set off looting or some type of riot.”

Why Society is So Fragile…

It was a good reminder how fragile society is and how most people these days are not prepared for any disaster or even any adversity at all in their lives. For instance, during the earthquake, I was in the terrible state of Maryland because my wife goes to law school there.

This means I wasn’t carrying a gun at the time, but I did have my knife on me, my tactical pen and a 72-hour kit close by. As I looked around at people crying and panicking I felt confident knowing that I’d be able to defend myself and escape if chaos started breaking out.

Of course, I would have had my gun on me if I had been in Virginia at the time, but we all know there are plenty of places we can’t carry a gun and that some days people even forget to put their gun on before they leave the house.

The Tools You Need…

That’s why, at the very least, I recommend you have the items I had on me the day of the earthquake. First, get a quality pocketknife with a clip. I prefer the Benchmade brand of knives. Second, get a tactical pen. I carry mine everywhere (airplanes included) and know if I ever have to use it, the person on the receiving end is going to be in a world of hurt when I’m done with them (if they’re alive at all.)

Lastly, have a 72-hour kit close by, at your work or in your car. You never know if you’re going to have to abandon your car on the highway and hike several miles back to your house, or if you’re going to have to seek shelter for a period of time. Either way, if you’ve got food, water, and protection (my 72-hour kit also has a tactical pen, a collapsible steel baton, and a fixed blade knife with a sheath, in addition to food and water) then you’ll be better off than the majority of Americans.

The bottom line is, most of society is not prepared, which means they freak out when any disaster at all occurs, which puts all of us in danger. So if you can legally carry a gun, then you absolutely should have one on you. If not, have the other items I mention above, especially the 72-hour kit.

Shotgun Myths and Secrets of Home Defense

Sitting in my bedroom is a Remington 870 shotgun full of 00 buckshot. Because, in my opinion, along with a good handgun (mine is a Glock 19) everyone also needs a shotgun for home defense. However, thanks to Hollywood, many people are often confused about how to properly use a shotgun.

I’m going to try and clear that up for you. First off, as I just mentioned, I think the best home defense shotgun is the Remington 870. They’re simple to use and can take a beating. Plus, they’re cheap, costing less than $350. However, if you want the “Rolls Royce” of shotguns, then go for a Benelli. It’ll set you back around $1,300, but to each his own. I’d be willing to bet my life on either gun, so the 870 works fine for me.

Once you’ve chosen a gun, you obviously need to get ammo for it. I use 00 buckshot for my gun, but you have to be very careful with over penetration with this load. Many experts recommend using bird shot for home defense, but I know the layout of my house and I don’t have any children, so 00 buck is what I prefer.

Now, let’s get to the nitty gritty of actually using the gun.

In short, the shotgun is like any other firearm we use for self-defense purposes. It’s only used when you’re in immediate fear for your life, and when you pull it out you better be prepared to use it.

In other words, when I’m doing training I’m often asked, “can’t I just rack the shotgun and that noise will scare off a burglar.” The answer to that question is “if it does, that’s a blessing, but don’t count on it happening.” When you pull out your gun, you better be prepared to pull the trigger and defend your life. You should not be thinking to yourself, “I’m just going to rack the shotgun and wait and see if that scares him off.” That’s the type of mindset that will get you killed.

Think about it this way:

If you’re carrying concealed on the street and somebody is running at you with a knife are you going to draw your gun and sit there assuming the sight of it is going to scare them off without you having any plans of actually using it? Of course not. You’re going to draw your gun and if they keep coming at you, you’re going to shoot. (If they happen to stop when you draw, then that’s the blessing you hope for, but don’t count on it.)

Another important aspect of the home defense shotgun is making sure it has a butt stock and not just a pistol grip. I realize that a pistol grip shotgun such as the Mossberg 500 Cruiser looks cool. You see them a lot in the movies, but they’re much more difficult to shoot and be accurate with. And I’m willing to bet that when someone breaks into your home and you’re sitting there with a “cool” looking shotgun, you’ll probably wish you had the “less cool” gun that was easier to shoot.

Also, as you’re sitting in your home with your shotgun you need to practice maneuvering around your house with it. Ideally, if someone breaks into your house you’ll just lock yourself in your bedroom with the gun pointed at the door and wait for the police to come and do their job.

But if you have to go out and inspect a suspicious noise make sure you’re not knocking into the walls and you know how to handle the gun. In fact, just like with all types of new guns you should take a shotgun specific class or at least go to the range with a buddy who’ll show you how to use the shotgun.

As I often have to remind my wife, you should have multiple guns to ensure the safety of you and your family. So, even if you’ve got a Glock or Springfield XD sitting in your nightstand, consider getting a shotgun this week because you can never be too prepared. (At least that’s what I keep telling my wife every time I add a firearm to the Hanson Family Arsenal.)

Why You Need to Invite a Liberal to Go Shooting

I work six days a week, but never on Sunday. On Sunday, I go to church and try and relax and spend time with my wife. However, she often has other plans that involve us being social. I do not like these plans, but I like my wife, so this means I always end up at someone’s house for dinner or having someone over for dinner on Sunday.

For instance, this past Sunday, I ended up at her best friend’s house. Her friend had invited two other people that I didn’t know. And being that we’re in the Washington, DC area, one of the first questions that popped up was “what do you do for a living?”

I explained that I was a personal security specialist and that on the weekends I taught concealed carry classes and taught people how to shoot. As I said this, I’m pretty sure I saw smoke coming out of her friend’s ears and she looked at me like I was the devil. She immediately proceeded to go on a rant about why in the world would anyone need a gun, and all guns do is kill people.

I’m used to this type of reaction. It doesn’t bother me one bit.

I let this woman continue with her rant as I sat there patiently. Once she was done I asked her how she would protect herself if someone broke into her house at 3am. And you want to know her response? She said, “that’ll never happen, the chances of that happening are next to none. I’m not worried about it.”

That’s a response that I hear too often and it’s a sad one. Of course the chances of getting your home invaded are small, but it happens often enough and it’s got to happen to someone. I proceeded to tell this anti-gun woman that I have car insurance, yet I never hope to get into a car accident. I have homeowners insurance and I hope my house never burns down. And I have my “gun insurance,” and although I pray I never have to use it, if the day comes I’ll be ready.

In my reading…

I often come across women who were anti-gun until someone broke into their house and ended up raping them. Now these women own guns and go around convincing others to own guns. I certainly hope that the woman I was at dinner with never has a home invasion and never finds out the hard way why every American needs a gun in their home.

As I continued to explain why I think it’s important to own a gun, she didn’t want to hear any of it. Then, I asked her if she had ever shot a gun. Not surprisingly, she said no. So, I invited her out to the range the next time my wife and I go shooting. She accepted and said she would be interested in trying it.

Often, once a person tries shooting, they realize how enjoyable it can really be. But even if this woman still hates guns after we go shooting, at least she’s a little less ignorant about guns and has actually used one.

So, if you’ve got friends or family or co-workers who are anti-gun, it probably won’t do any good trying to have a conversation where you convince them why they need a gun. But, if you invite them out to the range, they just might realize that guns aren’t the devil after all. Heck, if you invite them out to the range and they end up getting a gun because they enjoyed it so much, then you might have actually helped save their life one day.

By the way, next week, I assure you that you won’t hear me telling any stories about Sunday dinner because I’ve told my wife I don’t care if the President (Obama jokes aside) invites me to dinner, I’m not going anywhere.